Instructions for using the
Keisha Failure to Thrive
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To install
Most computers with 17 inch monitors purchased in 2001+ should be
able to run Keisha without changing any settings. If you have an older
computer, make sure the resolution of your computer’s monitor to 800 X 600 (small fonts) at 32,000 colors or greater. For instructions, see your Windows manual or the manual that came with your computer’s video card. With Windows 95, click on start, settings, control panel, the display icon, and then settings. While 800 X 600 at 32,000+ is best, higher resolutions are fine as long as small fonts are used. You can even use 256 colors, but the pictures and graphics will not be as nice. If the wording in some of the buttons and boxes is partly hidden or the buttons are a little out of place, the font size of your computer’s setup is set probably set for large.
Put the CD in your CD-ROM player or place disk one in your floppy drive.
The instructions for the download version are at
http://www2.uta.edu/cussn/keisha/demo.htm
Click on Start, Settings, Control Panel, Add/Remove programs, Install. Windows should find the CD-ROM or floppy disk or use Browse to find the CD-ROM or disk. Follow directions.
When asked for "select an option" during install, click on "Full - Install all files" option.
Hardware and software needed to run the simulation
Keisha will run on any computer that runs windows. The quality of the pictures and graphics in Keisha is dependent on the quality of the monitor and video card. Keisha was designed to be used with a video card set for 800 X 600 (small fonts) at 32,000 colors or more. Use this resolution or higher with small fonts for the correct positioning of items on the screen. Keisha requires:
- An IBM compatible computer with 4MB of RAM and windows 3.1 or higher including Windows 95.
- Approximately 8 MB of hard disk storage space and a clean formatted disk in drive A.
- A super VGA monitor capable of 800 by 600 screen resolution with 32,000 colors
Overview of the Simulation
Keisha is an interactive, multimedia, computer-based simulation developed for the Children's Protective Services Training Institute, Center for Social Work Research at The University of Texas at Austin. It was funded by the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (TDPRS), Child Protective Services Program. An accompanying computer based training (CBT) program on interviewing skills was developed by Dr. Patrick Leung, Ph.D., Associate Professor, at the U. of Houston School of Social Work and a cross-cultural competency program was developed by Dr. Santos Hernandez at Our Lady of the Lake School of Social Work in San Antonio, TX.
Keisha
was designed to illustrate the potential of technology for child protective services training and to guide the Institute's future use of technology. Keisha required approximately 4000 hours of development time to research, design, program, test and evaluate. Keisha was used and evaluated during new worker training at the Dallas area CPS Training Academy in 1994.
Keisha
consists of 4 sections of approximately 30-45 minutes each. The sections are:
- the referral 3. casework activity, and
- the home visit 4. forms and feedback
Objectives of the
Keisha case simulation
To allow users to experience the complexities of working a real FTT case, for example, legal and time constraints.
To allow users to make mistakes while working a FTT case without harming a client or themselves.
To allow users to discover and apply the knowledge required to work a FTT case.
To allow users to apply what is learned in CPS training to a FTT case.
To allow users to construct a case record from the knowledge base discovered while working a FTT case.
To provide constant monitoring and feedback while working a FTT case.
To reinforce good judgment in the order of events when working a FTT case.
To improve judgment in working a FTT case by comparing user judgment to expert judgment in:
- Analyzing an intake for priority, risk, and worker safety
- Viewing the outside and inside of a house for worker safety and health and safety hazards to the child
- Viewing a FTT child for risk indicators
Technical tips when using
Keisha
Begin by rebooting your computer to insure that other programs are not using computer memory.
Begin with a newly formatted disk for drive A. The user should retain this disk if they ever want to re-enter Keisha.
If you get the error message of "cannot read from drive A", insert your disk in drive and click on retry.
Exit the Keisha program by clicking the small square in the upper left hand side of the screen.
If Keisha does not occupy the total screen, hit F11 and it should fill the screen. If make the Keisha program smaller, try hitting F11 again.
If Keisha occupies the total screen, you can get the start taskbar to return by hitting Alt Esc if you are using Windows 97.
If for some reason a click does not register, simply click again. Double click and right button click have been locked out.
Instructions for using Keisha are often on each page in a yellow box. When entering a page, read the yellow box or boxes first.
It is preferable to exit each of the 4 sections of Keisha only after that section is completely finished. Keisha will not remember your place if you exit in the middle of a section and you will have to start at the beginning of that section when you re-enter the simulation. Keisha saves your setup information when you click the exit button at the end of each section.
It may be useful when first going through Keisha to save to a new disk at the end of each section. That way, you can put a disk in and start at the beginning of any section you want.
In section three, casework activity, you will construct a work plan with the help of your supervisor. This work plan is always available by clicking the clipboard icon at the bottom of the screen.
If you have problems, first exit and reboot your computer. See if the error repeats. Computers running Windows 3.1 still rely on the basic 640K memory for many functions. Freeing up base memory by running programs like memmaker may be useful. Computers with Windows 95 should not have memory problems with Keisha.
Removing
Keisha
To remove Keisha from your hard drive, minimize the Keisha Simulation group and while it is highlighted, hit the delete key. Then delete the c:\keisha subdirectory. Delete the c:\windows\asym subdirectory and the runtime and the filters and subdirectory. This should eliminate the files associated with Toolbox. Modification of the win.ini and system.ini files can eliminate any lines that Toolbox may install.
Support
Make a list of any problems you have with Keisha and email them to schoech@uta.edu or fax them to 817-272-2046. Be as specific as possible about the problem by giving a description of the screen (maybe some words for me to search for the proper page) and a detailed description of the problem. Provide an email address or a Fax number for replying.
Additional Information
This case represents how child protective service workers work a case in Dallas. It may not reflect the way a similar case would be worked in your area. For example, CANRIS is a statewide child abuse and neglect registry. Part of the rationale for working a case stems state policy and from the resources available to the worker. For example, if a family preservation program was available, Keisha may have remained at home with intensive family preservation provided the family.
Some of the case policy and documentation shown in this case simulation represents TDPRS risk-based service delivery system (formerly know as SMART--Structured Model for the Assessment of Risk in Texas). For further information about the risk assessment system, contact David Sheets, Director, Program Planning & Development, TDPRS MC E-557, POB 149030, Austin, TX 78714-9030.
The simulation tracks a lot of information and writes some of it to disk. Much of the user narrative is not written to disk because TDPRS did not request it. The simulation can be modified to save everything to disk and present it later. For specific modifications you may desire, contact the system developers.
Initially, time was to be a variable when working the case. The time boxes on the top of some pages display the time it typically takes a worker to work this case (12 hours). Individual tasks subtract the estimated time for the task from the overall time. We discussed the possibility of a user who inefficiently uses time to be able to not complete the scenario before the allocated time runs out.
At one time in the scenario, we used sound for some of the advice in the module. This was deactivated as the computers at TDPRS do not have sound cards.
Copyright and distribution
Keisha is copyrighted software. It is available free to anyone in the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (TDPRS). It is available to other based on the following fee schedule.
- Sale of Keisha for unlimited use (no source code provided).
- $300 per computer/user site for the first 2 computers.
- $200 per computer/ user site for 3 to 5 computers.
- $100 per computer/ user site (or network node) use on 5+ computers (minimum of $1000).
- Unlimited use of Keisha for teaching by an institution of higher education, e.g., colleges and universities = $250.
- Sale of Keisha source code with license to modify the source code with unlimited use of the modified simulation = $1500. The modified versions may be used without restrictions at one site. Use at additional sites is stated in #1 above. However, sales or distribution of the modified version may not be offered to the public in a manner that competes with the sale of Keisha by UTA.
- Modifications of the Keisha simulation to fit your needs, e.g., removing Texas policy and substituting your state's policy, can be provided for $35 per hour.
- Mentoring of CBT development efforts by U. of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work staff (call with your proposals).
- Cooperative development of case simulations similar to Keisha (call with your proposals).
Other options may be available upon request.
Proceeds from the sale of Keisha will be used to further the U. of Texas at Arlington child protective services technology efforts, for example, to develop additional modules.
Developers
Dick Schoech, Ph.D., Technology Project Chairperson; Monica Williams, MSSW, Simulation Developer; Ann Wilder, Resource Base Developer; and Rosemary Satterwhite, MSSW, Subject Matter Expert. For additional information about Keisha, contact Dick Schoech at the U. of Texas at Arlington, School of Social Work, Box 19129, Arlington, TX 76019-0129 phone: 817/272-3964 FAX: 817/272-2046, Internet: schoech@uta.edu. The Keisha demo is available for downloading from http://www.uta.edu/cussn/cussn.html.
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